Obama to nominate Hagel as Defense secretary

3:21 PM,
Jan. 6, 2013

Chuck Hagel,

Written by

David Jackson, Tom Vanden Brook and Aamer S. Madhani
| USA TODAY

President Obama plans on Monday to nominate Chuck Hagel, the former Republican senator from Nebraska and Vietnam War veteran, to lead the Pentagon as Defense secretary, according to two sources familiar with the nomination process.

Hagel, 66, served two terms in the Senate from 1997 to 2009, and led an Army infantry squad in Vietnam in 1968. He was wounded in action there and received two Purple Hearts. An administration source confirmed that Hagel's nomination would be announced Monday. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because it had not been officially announced.